crisp.
Senses relating to curliness.
Meaning & usage
Senses relating to curliness. Of hair: curling, especially in tight, stiff curls or ringlets; also (obsolete), of a person: having hair curled in this manner.
crisp hair
Senses relating to curliness. Of a body of water, skin, etc.: having a surface which is rippled or wrinkled.
Senses relating to curliness. Synonym of crispate (“of a leaf: having curled, notched, or wavy edges”); crisped.
Senses relating to curliness. Clear; also, shining, or smooth.
Senses relating to brittleness. Having a consistency which is hard yet brittle, and in a condition to break with a sharp fracture; crumbly, friable, short.
The crisp snow crunched underfoot.
Our customers in the produce department expect crisp apples and firm bananas.
Senses relating to brittleness. Not limp; firm, stiff; not stale or wilted; fresh; also, effervescent, lively.
Senses relating to brittleness. Of action, movement, a person's manner, etc.: precise and quick; brisk.
An expert, given a certain query, will often come up with a crisp answer: “yes” or “no”.
Senses relating to brittleness. Of air, weather, etc.: cool and dry; also, of a period of time: characterized by such weather.
Senses relating to brittleness. Of fabric, paper, etc.: clean and uncreased.
Senses relating to brittleness. Of something heard or seen: clearly defined; clean, neat, sharp.
This new television set has a very crisp image.
Senses relating to brittleness. Not using fuzzy logic; based on a binary distinction between true and false.
Senses relating to brittleness. Of wine: having a refreshing amount of acidity; having less acidity than green wine, but more than a flabby one.
Where this word comes from
The adjective is derived partly from the following: * Etymology 1, adjective sense 1: Middle English crisp (“curly, wavy”), from Old English crisp (“curly”), from Latin crispus (“of hair: crimped, curly”), possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kris-, from *(s)ker- (“to bend; to turn”). * Etymology 1, adjective sense 2: from the above, and probably also onomatopoeic, representing a crinkling or crunching sound. Doublet of crape and crepe. Adjective etymology 1, adjective sense 2.2.3 (“of air, weather, etc.: cool and dry”) is transferred from a description of frost or snow as “crisp”, that is, crunchy. The noun is derived partly from the following: * Middle English crisp (“light, crinkled fabric; kind of pastry; crinkliness or roughness of skin”), from crisp (adjective) (see above). * Modern English crisp (adjective) (“having a consistency which is hard yet brittle”).
Senses relating to something brittle. In full potato crisp: a thin slice of potato which has been deep-fried until it is brittle and crispy, and eaten when cool; they are typically packaged and sold as a snack.
Senses relating to something brittle. In full potato crisp: a thin slice of potato which has been deep-fried until it is brittle and crispy, and eaten when cool; they are typically packaged and sold as a snack. Sometimes with a descriptive word: a crispy, savoury snack made of some other ingredient(s) (such as cornmeal or a vegetable) which is baked or deep-fried and eaten like a potato crisp.
kale crisps prawn crisp
Senses relating to something brittle. A type of baked dessert consisting of fruit topped with a crumbly mixture made with fat, flour, and sugar; a crumble.
Senses relating to something brittle. A banknote; also, a number of banknotes collectively.
Senses relating to something brittle. Chiefly in to a crisp: a food item that has been overcooked, or a thing which has been burned, to the point of becoming charred or dried out.
Senses relating to something brittle. The crispy rind of roast pork; crackling.
Senses relating to something curled. A curly lock of hair, especially one which is tightly curled.
Senses relating to something curled. A delicate fabric, possibly resembling crepe, especially used by women for veils or other head coverings in the past; also, a head covering made of this fabric.
Where this word comes from
The adjective is derived partly from the following: * Etymology 1, adjective sense 1: Middle English crisp (“curly, wavy”), from Old English crisp (“curly”), from Latin crispus (“of hair: crimped, curly”), possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kris-, from *(s)ker- (“to bend; to turn”). * Etymology 1, adjective sense 2: from the above, and probably also onomatopoeic, representing a crinkling or crunching sound. Doublet of crape and crepe. Adjective etymology 1, adjective sense 2.2.3 (“of air, weather, etc.: cool and dry”) is transferred from a description of frost or snow as “crisp”, that is, crunchy. The noun is derived partly from the following: * Middle English crisp (“light, crinkled fabric; kind of pastry; crinkliness or roughness of skin”), from crisp (adjective) (see above). * Modern English crisp (adjective) (“having a consistency which is hard yet brittle”).
Senses relating to brittleness. To make (something) firm yet brittle; specifically (cooking), to give (food) a crispy surface through frying, grilling, or roasting.
to crisp bacon by frying it
Senses relating to brittleness. To add small amounts of colour to (something); to tinge, to tint.
Senses relating to brittleness. To become firm yet brittle; specifically (cooking), of food: to form a crispy surface through frying, grilling, or roasting.
to put celery into ice water to crisp
Senses relating to brittleness. To make a sharp crackling or crunching sound.
Senses relating to curliness. To curl (something, such as fabric) into tight, stiff folds or waves; to crimp, to crinkle; specifically, to form (hair) into tight curls or ringlets.
Senses relating to curliness. To cause (a body of water) to undulate irregularly; to ripple.
Senses relating to curliness. To twist or wrinkle (a body part).
Senses relating to curliness. To fold (newly woven cloth).
Senses relating to curliness. To become curled into tight, stiff folds or waves.
Senses relating to curliness. Of a body of water: to ripple, to undulate.
Senses relating to curliness. Of a body part: to become twisted or wrinkled.
Where this word comes from
Partly from the following: * Etymology 2 sense 1: crisp (adjective; see etymology 1). * Etymology 2 sense 2: Late Middle English crispen (“to curl; of hair: to be curly”), from Old English cirpsian (“to curl, crisp”), from Latin crīspō (“to crimp; to curl”), from crispus (“of hair: crimped, curly”, adjective) (see etymology 1) + -ō (suffix forming infinitives of first-conjugation verbs).
Try it on your idea.
crisp has 5 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.
These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.
Explore the name generatorA word with a source.
Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.